Body Composition Testing

Are you fixated on the number on the scale?? If so, you are not alone. It is a common issue. We get told what we should weigh without any consideration of what our body is made of. We are often made to feel fat or unhealthy purely by the number we see when we step on the scale. This number does not reflect your true health –stop fixating on that number!!

Your health is determined by a variety of factors. Your health and how you physically and mentally feel is greatly impacted by your body composition. Your body composition is the measure of how much muscle mass, water, bones/tissues, and fat your body has. You could be thin by the number on the scale but “fat” based on your body composition. If you have a lot of fat and very little muscle, this results in a lower number on the scale and is unhealthy for you. You could be losing weight but hurting your health by losing muscle and not fat.

The Facts:

  • In the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, for example, middle-aged women and men who gained 11 to 22 pounds of fat after age 20 were up to three times more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and gallstones than those who gained five pounds or fewer.
  • Those who gained more than 22 pounds had an even larger risk of developing these diseases.

Focus On Long Term Goals:

Just following the number on your scale will not accurately tell you if you are gaining fat or losing muscle. If you are making lifestyle changes it is often difficult to see these changes on the scale but you can see them in your body composition.

How can you determine your body composition?

  • Since you can not take out your fat, muscle, and water to weigh it, there are a few methods to determine your body composition.
  • You can use calipers-a tool that pinches and measures the amount of fat that you have. The issue with this is that it is prone to operator error and has been shown to have a lot of inaccuracies. It can be helpful if you have someone highly trained in this method.
  • You can get a water weighing which is considered the “gold standard” but it is costly, time consuming, and involves specialized equipment.
  • You can buy BIA body impedence analysis scales for the home. These are often cheaply made and have been found to be inaccurate. However, some people do find them helpful.
  • You can get a medical grade body composition test. This is only provided in medicsl offices. The SECA body composition test has specifically been shown to be almost as accurate as water weighing without the cost and hassle of water weighing.

However you choose to monitor your body composition, remember to focus on what is inside of you rather than the scale.

If you are interested in the SECA body composition test please call 951-541-3577. We offer this test to patients without a consultation in order to make it easier for more people to make proper improvements to their health.

If you wish to review the results, a consult is required.

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